THE STORY OF
GERSHAM & MARIO
“Mario, do you see a piece of wood in the box that’s just a little bigger than this one? This one isn’t long enough.”
“What about this one?” Mario asked as he handed the block of wood to Gersham, his brother.
“Perfect!”
Mario was glad to help his older brother Gersham with his projects. Gersham was blind, but he was able to carve beautiful things out of wood.
When Gersham was only four years old, his Abba took him to his carpentry shop and let him play with the leftover wood scraps. He would play contentedly for hours building forts and houses with the scraps.
Soon his Abba introduced him to tools and Gersham learned to shape the wood into balls and boats and blocks. Mother had her hands full with two more little ones at home, so Gersham spent most days with his Abba in the carpentry shop.
When Gersham turned eight years old, he was expected to go each morning to an area just outside of the temple to beg. His little brother Mario, who was six years old, walked with him there each morning on his way to Hebrew school. His Abba would come at noon and lead him to the carpentry shop to spend the afternoons with him.
Gersham hated just sitting and doing nothing, so he always had a block of wood and a rasp or file with him.
After school, Mario would come to the shop too, and together they would work on projects with Abba’s scraps of wood. Gersham began to carve candlesticks and bowls from the wood. And he loved to make balls and boats for the little children who were brave enough to say hello.
Now that Gersham had turned 13, he was considered to be a man. But because of his blindness, Gersham needed his family to help him with everyday tasks. So, even though he was a man, life continued as usual for him. He begged at the temple each morning and worked at the carpentry shop every afternoon except for the Sabbath.
His woodworking continued to improve, and his dad was able to sell his candlesticks, kitchen tools, and bowls at his carpentry shop. This provided the money he needed to pay his parents for housing and food.
Sabbath days were the hardest for Gersham because he hated not being able to work with his hands. But they were profitable days for begging, so he usually spent the day sitting near the temple gate.
The Pharisees taught that people who were blind or crippled or sick were being punished by God, so Gersham had few friends. But Mario was not only a good brother, but a good friend. Often, he would walk down to the temple to talk with Gersham because he knew how boring the Sabbaths were for him.
He would sit beside him and describe the people who were coming and going into the temple. They often talked about the state of Israel, or what Mario was learning in Hebrew school.
One Sabbath afternoon, Mario decided to walk down to the temple and spend time with Gersham. As he got close to the temple gates, he saw Jesus and a group of his disciples leaving the temple. He heard them talking about his brother.
... “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”1
Mario felt his fist clench and his stomach tighten. All his life, he had been told that his parents were “sinners,” or his brother would not have been born blind. His parents had been shunned and their business had suffered because they were not considered loved by God. Mario himself had few friends because his brother was blind.
Then he heard:
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”2
Mario didn’t understand what Jesus meant by displaying the works of God, but he sure did appreciate him teaching the crowd that Gersham and his parents didn’t do anything wrong to cause the blindness.
Then as Mario watched, Jesus:
... spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam”....3
The pool was close by the temple gate, so Gersham could easily get there by himself. Some of Jesus’ disciples walked over with him, so Mario just stayed hidden in the crowd so he could see what would happen next.
Mario watched, amazed, when he realized that Gersham could see.
Gersham kept touching things and exclaiming over the beauty of the world. He loved the grass, the trees, the sky, and the people. He kept exclaiming over the variety of faces that he was seeing — all looking at him.
Mario couldn’t stop his tears as he realized that Gersham was looking right at him — but didn’t know him. He had never seen his brother.
The crowd started arguing about whether this was really Gersham. They couldn’t believe that he had been healed. But Jesus and his disciples had disappeared.
“Gersham,” said Mario, and Gersham immediately ran to him and began to hug him. Mario and Gersham both assured the crowd that this really was Gersham, but the crowd wouldn’t believe them.
Someone called the Pharisees, and they came and questioned Gersham. They wanted to know all the details.
Gersham told them about Jesus putting the mud on his eyes and telling him to wash in the pool. And now he could see! He was so excited — but the Pharisees seemed angry.
Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So, they were divided.4
The Pharisees angrily asked Gersham:
... “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” ....5
And Gersham replied:
.... “He is a prophet.”6
Since the Pharisees were still arguing about whether this was really Gersham, they sent Mario for his parents so they could identify him. Mario ran all the way home and was so out of breath he could hardly speak.
His parents were frightened that something terrible had happened. Finally, he was able to tell them that the Pharisees wanted them to come and identify Gersham. He told them that they were mad because Jesus had healed Gersham so that he could see. But his parents were so upset about the Pharisees being angry that they didn’t really hear the good news.
Mario’s parents were not happy that Gersham had gotten the Pharisees and synagogue Ruler angry. They had tried hard to please them. They thought if they pleased the Jewish leaders, then God would be pleased with them.
When they arrived, the Pharisees demanded to know if this was their son.
They said, “Yes.”
Then they asked if he was born blind and they replied, “Yes.”
Then they asked how he could see. Mario’s parents looked at each other and admitted that they had no idea. Mario’s dad said, “He’s of age, let him tell you!”
So, the Pharisees turned to Gersham again and demanded that he tell the truth. They said that they knew that Jesus could not have healed him because Jesus was a sinner who didn’t even keep the Sabbath rules.
Then Gersham very boldly spoke:
... “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”7
The Pharisees kept questioning him about what Jesus did and why he could see.
Now at this point, Gersham probably was a little disrespectful, but he spoke the truth and it made the Pharisees really mad. He told the Pharisees that Jesus couldn’t possibly be a sinner if he could heal a man born blind. Gersham told them plainly that Jesus had to be from God if he could do that.
The Pharisees became furious and told Gersham that he could no longer be part of the local synagogue. They went back into the temple and left Gersham and Mario and their parents standing alone.
“Come on,” said Mario, “Let’s go home.” He knew that his parents were devastated that once again they were in trouble with the Pharisees. Mario wasn’t sure what to do. The Jewish people believed that to be kicked out of the synagogue was like being kicked out of Heaven, and Gersham’s parents were horrified. It should have been the happiest day for his family, but the Pharisees were angry, and Mario’s parents hadn’t even realized that Gersham could see.
Gersham was strangely quiet because he knew he had disappointed his parents. They walked home together slowly.
But as they were walking, Jesus came up from behind them and called Gersham by name. Jesus knew what the Pharisees had done, and he wanted to assure Gersham that it was okay.
The family stopped and turned toward Jesus. Jesus asked Gersham if he believed in the Messiah. Gersham said that he wasn’t sure because he had never seen him.
Jesus laughed and said:
... “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”8
Gersham fell on his knees and worshiped Jesus.
... “Lord, I believe,” ...9
Mario fell on his knees, too, and worshiped Jesus.
His parents were still in shock. They watched their sons worship Jesus, but their Jewish religion kept them from worshiping him. They were too afraid of the Pharisees.
Now Gersham’s joy was overflowing. He talked non-stop all the way home, dancing around and touching everything and exclaiming with delight over every little thing.
He had never seen a bird, or a bug, or a leaf, or the sunshine.
Gersham was filled with an incredible joy that was even greater because he had met Jesus, his Messiah. Mario, too, felt his heart would explode with joy. He had met the Messiah that the Jews had waited on for 1700 years. He knew without a shadow of doubt that Gersham’s healing was from God.
Gersham and Mario just wished their parents could share that joy. It seemed to them that their parents were blinded by their religion and their fear of the Pharisees. They hoped that someday their parents’ eyes would be opened, and they would see clearly that Jesus was the Messiah sent from God.
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1 John 9:2
2 John 9:3
